Collection Summary
Francis Asbury Roe Papers
1842-1901
(bulk 1846-1869)
1842-1901
(bulk 1846-1869)
MSS54437
Roe, Francis Asbury,
1823-1901
500 items
3 containers
1 linear foot
English
Collection material in
English
Manuscript Division, Library of
Congress
Washington, D.C.
Naval officer.
Correspondence, journals, notebooks, and other papers pertaining to Roe's
cruises and an engagement between the USS Sassacus
(side-wheel steamer) and the CSS Albemarle
(ironclad ram) in 1864.
Selected Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
People
Roe, Francis Asbury, 1823-1901.
Roe, Francis Asbury, 1823-1901. Naval duties and discipline: with policy and principles of naval organization. 1865 .
Organizations
Albemarle (Ironclad ram)
Sassacus (Side-wheel steamer)
United States. Navy.
Places
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Naval operations.
Occupations
Naval officers.
Provenance
The papers of Francis Asbury Roe, naval officer, were deposited in
the Library of Congress by the Naval Historical Foundation in 1949 and 1969 and
converted to a gift in 1998.
Processing History
The Roe Papers were processed in 1970. The finding aid was revised in
2010.
Additional Guides
In 1970, the Library published
Charles Goodwin Ridgely, Francis Asbury Roe, and John Grimes
Walker: A Register of Their Papers in the Library of Congress.
Copyright Status
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Francis Asbury
Roe is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17,
U.S.C.).
Access and Restrictions
The papers of Francis Asbury Roe are open to research. Researchers are
advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many
collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these
items for research use.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the
following information: Container number, Francis Asbury Roe Papers, Naval
Historical Foundation Collection, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress,
Washington, D.C.
Biographical Note
Date
Event
1823, Oct. 4
Born, Elmira, N. Y.
1841
Appointed acting midshipman
Duty in John Adams
(frigate)
1844
Duty in Yorktown (sloop)
1846
Duty in Boston
(sloop-of-war)
1849
Married Eliza J. Snyder
1852
Duty in Porpoise (brig), North
Pacific and Bering Strait expedition
1855
Duty with United States Coast Survey
1858
Duty in Macedonian
(frigate)
1861
Duty in Pensacola (screw
steamer)
1863
Commanded Sassacus (side-wheel
steamer)
1865
Published
Naval Duties and Discipline
. New York: D. Van
Nostrand
1867
Commanded Tacony (side-wheel
steamer)
Commanded Delaware (side-wheel
steamer)
1872
Commanded Naval Rendezvous, San Francisco, Calif.
1873
Commanded Lancaster (screw
sloop-of-war), Brazil Station
1883
Governor, United States Naval Asylum for Retired Seamen,
Philadelphia, Pa.
1884
Promoted to rear admiral
1890
Published
Historic Records of an Old Family: Ancestry of Francis
Asbury Roe
1893
Governor, Society of Colonial Wars of the District of
Columbia
1900
Published
An American Sea Captain of Colonial Times
.
Washington: D.C.: Historical Papers of the Society of Colonial Wars in the
District of Columbia
1901, Dec. 28
Died, Washington, D. C.
Scope and Content Note
The papers of Francis Asbury Roe (1823-1901) span the years 1842-1901,
with the bulk of the material from the period 1846-1869. The papers consist of
journals, letterbooks, correspondence, and miscellaneous material.
Nearly all of Roe's cruises are documented in the collection, from his
first cruise as a midshipman on the John Adams
(frigate) in 1842 until his last as fleet captain in a cruise to Brazil in
1874. There is also an account of the fight between the Sassacus (side-wheel steamer) and the CSS
Albemarle (ironclad ram) in 1864. For his role in
that action Roe received a letter of commendation from Gideon Welles, secretary
of the navy. The collection also contains proof sheets of his book,
Naval Duties and Discipline
.
Arrangement of the Papers
This collection is arranged by type of material.
Catalog Record: [https://lccn.loc.gov/mm70054437]
Container List
Container
Contents
1
Journal
1
John
Adams (frigate),
1844
[
See also Container 2, same heading](roe1)
1844
1
Yorktown (sloop),
1846
1846
1
Porpoise (brig),
1853
1853
1
Vincennes (sloop-of-war),
1855
1855
1
Macedonian (frigate), private journal,
1859
1859
1
Lancaster (screw sloop-of-war),
1874
1874
2
John Adams (frigate),
1842-1844, containing oversize
material
1842-1844,
3
Letterbooks
3
Madawaska (screw frigate) and Tacony (side-wheel steamer),
1866-1867
1866-1867
3
Delaware (side-wheel steamer),
1869
1869
3
Miscellany
3
Correspondence,
1866-1901
1866-1901
3
Notebook on seamanship,
1843
1843
3
Watch, quarter, station, and fire
bills, Madawaska (screw frigate),
1866
1866
3
Inspection book and notes on
fleet matters,
1868
1868
3
Article on the 1864 fight between
Sassacus (side-wheel steamer) and CSS
Albemarle (ironclad ram), with Roe's corrections,
1899
1899
3
Proof sheets of
Naval Duties and Discipline
,
1865
1865
3
Newspaper clippings and printed
matter,
1859-1872
1859-1872